The Valparaiso volleyball squad has been predicted to finish in a tie for third place in the Horizon League in 2011, as chosen by the league’s nine head coaches.  The Crusaders picked up one first-place vote and tallied 51 points, finishing just one point out of the second position.

Each of the coaches ranked the teams one through eight, omitting their own squad from the voting.  Teams received eight points for a first-place vote down to one point for an eighth-place vote.

Milwaukee led the polling with 60 points, including four of the nine first-place tallies.  Cleveland State (two first-place votes, 52 pts.) followed just ahead of the Crusaders, while Butler registered the other two first-place nods to finish with 51 points in a tie for third with Valpo.  Green Bay (33 pts.) was picked in the fifth position, with UIC (31 pts.), Loyola (21 pts.) and Wright State (17 pts.) following in sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.  Youngstown State (8 pts.) rounded out the polling.

Valpo returns 11 letterwinners, including four starters, from a 2010 squad which won 27 matches and advanced to the Horizon League championship match, and also brings in a pair of freshmen to complement the returning nucleus.  The Crusaders’ season starts this weekend with four matches in a two-day stretch at the WVU Mountaineer Invitational, kicking off with a 9:30 a.m. CDT matchup Friday with preseason #21 Ohio State.